Recreational Participation Among Ethnic Minorities and Immigrants in Canada and the Netherlands
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Recreational Participation among Ethnic Minorities and Immigrants In Canada and the Netherlands Amanda Aizlewood∗ Pieter Bevelander# Ravi Pendakur∗ Social Development Canada IMER, Malmö University Social Development Canada Amanda.Aizlewood@sdc- [email protected] [email protected] dsc.gc.ca # The author would gratefully acknowledge the generous support provided by the Swedish Foundation for International * The opinions expressed in this Cooperation in Research and report are those of the author and/or Higher Education (STINT), the contributors and do not necessarily Institute for Sociological and reflect the views of Social Economic Research (ISEO), Development Canada or the Erasmus University which allowed Government of Canada. us to do the research. 2 Abstract In this paper we compare the community engagement of minorities as measured by group recreational activity in Canada and the Netherlands – two countries with high immigration intake and high levels of ethnocultural diversity. Using logistic regression we ask questions concerning the determinants of recreational participation, focussing on the degree to which differences are a product of minority status or of more general socioeconomic status. We also compare rates of participation in the two countries to see if there is an underlying difference which can be explained by socioeconomic and demographic status. We find that socio-demographic characteristics are generally much stronger predictors of participation than characteristics associated with minority status, regardless of country. 3 1. Introduction As with other forms of active participation, recreational participation involves engagement and exchange among and between individuals, families and groups. Researchers argue that such engagement is beneficial because it leads to a greater sense of mutual obligation among individuals and toward the larger community (Putnam, 1993; Brehm and Rahn, 1997; Putnam, 1995; Fukuyama, 1995). Higher participation leads to higher interaction, which in turn leads to higher trust among individuals and between groups. In Canada and the Netherlands – two countries with high immigration intake and high levels of ethnocultural diversity – it is in everyone’s interest that immigrants and ethnocultural minorities be actively and positively engaged in the civic, social and cultural spheres of their communities. The engagement of immigrants and ethnocultural minorities in recreational activity is of particular interest to social researchers because it is an indicator of community engagement. Such participation, scholars argue, can lead to social benefits, such as increased interaction across diverse groups and an increased sense of belonging to one’s community. The purposes of this study are twofold. First, using descriptive tables we analyse the rates at which immigrants and ethnocultural minorities in Canada and the Netherlands participate in specific forms of recreational activities as compared to the native-born and majority portion of the population.1 Second, using logistic regression we investigate the factors which influence the rate of such participation and the degree to which these factors differ between Canada and the Netherlands. In particular we investigate whether ethnocultural or immigrant-status characteristics predict the likelihood of recreational participation better than sociodemographic characteristics. We find that although there are some differences in the participation rates of ethnocultural minorities and immigrants in both Canada and the Netherlands, the dominant drivers are related to socio-economic and demographic characteristics. These drivers are consistent in both countries, with variables such as age, education and employment status having about the same magnitude and significance. 1 ‘Ethnocultural minority’ is defined for our purposes as those individuals are not members of the ethnocultural majority group as it is generally understood in the country of study. In Canada, this refers to non- British/French/Canadian ethnic origin. In the Netherlands, it refers to non-Dutch ethnic origin. It is important to note that ethnocultural identification exists separately from ‘immigrant’ status. Ethnocultural minorities can be native-born, and immigrants can be majority or non-majority in ethnic origin. For this reason, it is important to study both groups in an analysis of this kind. 4 2. The Literature The following section provides a brief review of the link between participation, well-being and minority status, as well as a look at the immigration regimes in Canada and the Netherlands. The review begins by defining recreational participation. We then provide a brief look at theories surrounding the relationship between ethnicity and recreational participation. We review findings of previous studies that look at the impact between ethnicity, immigrant status and recreational participation, and provide highlights of findings related to the influence of sociodemographic characteristics on recreational participation. 2.1 Recreational participation defined Recreational participation is defined as an individual’s activities during his or her leisure time. These activities can take place in either formal or informal settings (see Helly, 1997). Informal recreational participation includes those activities which take place in groups on an ad hoc basis as well as those that take place at stable, pre-arranged times. They are relatively permanent, but are not governed by institutions. Examples of this informal kind of social participation are youth groups, music groups, cooking clubs, quilting bees, and friends who meet on weekend afternoons to play a sport in a local park. Formal recreational participation includes any affiliation with registered associations, clubs and groups with an ongoing, scheduled program of activities, a known and stable meeting place, and officers with known responsibilities. Examples of this more formal kind of participation are choral societies, sports leagues, and exercise classes. 2.2 Recreational participation of ethnic minorities Over the last two decades, a number of studies have been conducted on the recreational behaviour of ethnocultural minorities. These studies have generally concluded that ethnic background influences a variety of phenomena related to sport, leisure and recreation behaviour (see Coakley, 2001; Henderson and Ainsworth, 2001; Hutchison, 1987; Juniu, 2000; Tirone and Shaw, 1997) and that by and large, recreational participation is lower among ethnocultural minorities as compared to the majority population. 5 There are several theoretical approaches that attempt to explain this negative relationship between recreational participation and minority ethnicity. The explanations proffered for this discrepancy in participation rates have emerged largely from American scholars and are, not surprisingly, strongly influenced by a racialised class-underclass paradigm of social relations. In particular, the approach known as marginality posits that recreational participation among ethnic groups is constrained by the forces of social inequality and discrimination (see Yancey and Snell, 1976). This approach grew out of studies attempting to account for the under-representation of African Americans in recreational activities (Floyd, 1998). It explains lower participation rates as the result of social barriers that act as obstacles to participation. The marginality hypothesis has been subject to a high degree of criticism (see Hutchison, 1988; Washburne, 1978) on the basis that it is has been accepted too uncritically and is far too simplistic in its attempt to group all African Americans as members of an underprivileged and monolithic class structure (see Woodard, 1988; Johnson, Horan and Pepper, 1997). It is also questionable as to how transportable these ideas are to Canada and Europe where the minority populations have very different histories and where race based attitudes are not as dominant. Similar to the marginality approach is the opportunity approach. Here, non-participation of minority ethnocultural groups in ‘mainstream activities’ is explained by a lack of sufficient access and opportunity to do so (Lindsay and Ogle, 1972). This may be due to lack of available infrastructure, such as a lack of green space, sports facilities or meeting halls. The hypothesis holds that as costs increase, opportunities for marginalized groups decline. Since ethnocultural minorities are presumed to occupy the lower rungs of the social ladder and are often spatially disadvantaged, they lack the means to access opportunities for recreational participation. Other theoretical approaches centre on the essential ‘ethnic-ness’ of minority groups themselves to explain disparities in participation rates. The ethnicity approach argues that differences in recreational participation among ethnic groups can be explained by the existence of a distinct set of subcultural norms and values with respect to leisure activity. In this view, recreational participation among ethnic groups is the result of specific group interests and is created and directed to meet these needs (Washburne, 1978; Walter, Brown and Grabb, 1991.) Identity theory suggests that members of ethnic groups deliberately choose to participate within their own communities and not in so-called ‘mainstream’ activities because they wish to preserve their ethnic identity and heritage. Individuals consciously choose to construct and preserve their identity by engaging in ethno-specific